Equipment Spotlight | JUL 2022 Safety Equipment

by MARY M. THORNTON

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the waste recycling industry has a rate of approximately 45 fatalities per 100,000 full time equivalent workers, which is over 5 times the fatality rate for all industries. Those numbers have continued to trend upward since 2020. Establishing a safe work environment not only meets state and federal safety regulations, it is also the right thing to do, to protect employees. Company owners can help avoid safety incidents among staff by using a variety of tools. Some of those tools are covered in this article.

“We manufacture Buffalo Turbine Dust Control machines, as they are useful to a variety of industries in meeting air quality safety requirements. Not only will our products knock down dust to make a cleaner, safer environment for all who are in it, we make machines that last. Each machine includes a 10 year warranty, and performs in the toughest conditions,” Guy Gabbey, Jr., sales representative for Buffalo Turbine, said.

Buffalo Turbine Dust Control machines have been manufactured in the U.S. since 1945. Operating originally as an agriculture sprayer, the firm’s engineers added power and longevity to the product over time, to reduce dust as a nuisance to employees and neighbors. Working closely with recycling plants, scrap yards, waste stations and demolition sites, Buffalo Turbine staff members help their clients with adhering to EPA and other governmental agency requirements. Dust control and abatement continues to grow as a concern, and Buffalo Turbine machines help mitigate the problems that are related that cover up to 40,000 sq.ft. of area, and per Gabbey, “are the most mobile units available in the industry. With an eight hour run time, our machines will cover a whole shift without constant attention. Regulations that control job-site environmental hazards are widening. Our machines help suppress dust, create a healthier, safer environment for employees and improve overall atmospheric quality.”

For over 20 years, Induction Innovations has been a family owned and operated manufacturer of high performance induction heaters. “Our products are American made, with genuine OEM parts. Our induction heating tools are designed to solve problems. They remove stuck or corroded parts and adhesives in a faster, safer, and more precise way than using an open flame torch,” explained founder and president, Tom Gough.

He developed the first Inductor® Series model in 2000, inspired as a 28 year veteran of the collision repair industry. During those years, he became familiar with the processes involved in vehicle and equipment repair. “Induction heating is the perfect solution for salvaging needs. The induction tools allow users to complete tasks such as glass removal safely but quickly in maintaining original parts so they retain their value and can be reused. Induction heating tool use is much safer than using a blower torch. The tool can also increase productivity because technicians can quickly remove windshields, quarter glass, and other vehicle windows without causing breakage. In the salvage industry, it is vital to perform repairs quickly while avoiding damage to recovered parts.

Reclaiming parts from used vehicles requires quick removal processes to ensure profitability,” Gough said. He added, “Salvage yard owners can increase auto part recycling capacity by using our Inductor® Glass Blaster® product. This easy-to-use tool removes windshields from outside the vehicle in less than 15 minutes, back glass in 9 minutes and spray-in bedliners in just a few hours. The product facilitates glass removal but without interior trim removal, because the Glass Blaster releases urethane in hard-to-reach areas that other glass removal tools cannot access. The Glass Blaster attachment is hardwired into the power supply, which is securely fastened into a portal toolbox. The tool runs on a standard 120 volt 20 amp circuit and includes 2 L-wedges, a pneumatic footswitch, an instruction manual and a one year warranty.”

According to Randy Johnson, vice president of Industrial Netting, “Car-Go-Net® provides easy, inexpensive compliance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) regulations for the securement of flattened or crushed cars.” Cargo Containment Regulation FMCSR §393.132 requires that vehicles used to transport flattened or crushed cars must be equipped to prevent loose parts from falling from all four sides of a vehicle, extending to the full height of the cargo.

“When that rule was first adopted, Industrial Netting worked closely with the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries to create a safe and inexpensive solution. The result was Car-Go-Net – an extruded plastic netting designed for one-time use. The bright orange color of the netting makes it easily visible to law enforcement so haulers are less likely to be stopped for noncompliance. Our product is lightweight but very strong and the uniform grid pattern of the net won’t stretch or unravel if a strand is cut. In contrast, knitted hay bale-style netting will shred if pulled in a cross direction. The strength of our product allows haulers to wrap material just once to secure their load,” Johnson stated.

Johnson reports that Car-Go-Net is the most widely used disposable tarp in the scrap recycling industry. In the past 5 years, more than 1,000 scrap processors, auto crushers, metal shredders, salvage yards, towing services and auto recyclers throughout North America, Australia and New Zealand have used Car-Go-Net to prevent loose parts from falling onto roadways during transit. A variety of roll sizes (from 4’ to 17’ wide and from 500’ to 2,500’ long) is available. Also, same or next day shipping is offered on most orders.

Published in the July 2022 Edition of American Recycler News